For Nagpur civic body, even when properties increase, the tax revenue doesn’t

NAGPUR: Even though the number of taxable properties in state’s second capital is increasing, the civic body is slow to convert them into its revenue source. In the last four years, NMC has witnessed an increase of 51,494 properties including both residential and commercial.

As per NMC’s records of April 2016, the city has 5,85,660 taxable properties, including 5,13,835 residential and 71,825 non-residential (or commercial) units. NMC recovered only 174.09 crore as property tax in 2015-16. Interestingly, though number of residential units increased by 553 in the last fiscal, it did not result in a corresponding increase in property tax revenue.

In 2012-2013, the property tax department collected 167.33 crore against the target of 210.78 crore that included 75.31 crore as arrears. In 2015-16, the property tax department collected Rs174 crore against a target of 250 crore. Even though the department issued demand notes worth 257.10 crore which included 130.69 crore arrears.

Sources said in the last four financial years, from 2012-13 to 2015-16, the cumulative property tax recovery target was 955.66 crore, but the tax collected was just around 736.17 crore. The poor collection actually exposes severe lacunae in NMC’s property tax department, pointed out sources.

With the Orange city expanding, new residential areas are coming up in all directions. Old bungalows are giving way to multi-storeyed apartment blocks. However, the number of taxpayers has increased very slowly. This is obviously NMC’s failure to effectively implement the tax assessment process. As per conservative estimates, around one lakh properties were yet to be assessed, sources revealed. Besides many older properties have not been re-assessed and continue to pay paltry tax.

A senior officer from NMC’s property tax department told TOI that to address this, the civic body had started the GIS based survey of properties in city.

In other cities like Pune, Nashik, revenue from property tax collection has been steadily rising through better recovery process and proper distribution of bills. Pune Municipal Corporation had introduced bands to play loud music in front of such properties, shaming the owners into clearing dues. The drive was launched in March 2013 on an experimental basis. After getting good response, it became regular feature, revealed the tax department official. Here corporators are opposing the scheme.

Many social organizations and traders' bodies, including Vidarbha Taxpayers Association, have demanded that NMC should not impose ready reckoner rate for tax calculation and instead begin assessing properties that had not been assessed since years.

Former corporator Vedprakash Arya said, “NMC should launch special drive to target the unassessed one lakh properties in suburbs. The civic body should bring those properties under tax ambit and improve revenue collection.”

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